This new search filter, part of Google's "advanced search" option, allows people to sort results based on reading level - basic, intermediate, or advanced.

The feature also allows you to chart how 'smart' or 'dumb' any website is by using the search function.

Google does not specify how it defines each reading level, however most readability tests analyze text by looking at factors such as the number of words in each sentence or the number of letters and syllables in each word, assuming that more complicated sentences would be more difficult to read.

We looked at a list of 24 of the biggest US news websites analyzed by Adam Sherk to see how they all stacked up based on which site had the highest (or lowest) percentage of content at a "basic" reading level.